This School District Just Banned Cupcakes. And Candy.

A school district in Washington state is determined to make school more healthy and less fun.

Edmonds School District, in the suburbs south of Seattle, has approved a ban on cupcakes, candy and other sweet treats children typically bring to school to celebrate their birthdays. Instead, district officials say kids should distribute pencils to their classmates on those special days–because pencils are every bit as much fun as cupcakes.

If every child in a classroom brings treats to birthday celebrations, “We’re not just talking about one cupcake a year, we’re talking about 25 cupcakes a year,” DJ Jakala, spokeswoman for the Edmonds School District, told the Everett Herald newspaper.

Eric Boehm is a reporter for Watchdog.org, a national network of investigative reporters covering waste, fraud and abuse in government. Watchdog.org is a project of the nonprofit Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity.

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